Texas Conservation Action Plan comment period June 10-July 8

AUSTIN – The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is seeking online public input as the department revises its six-year-old wildlife action plan, a document now called the Texas Conservation Action Plan.

The TCAP, formerly the Texas Wildlife Action Plan, is developed by TPWD to encourage land owners, natural resource professionals and the public to preserve our natural heritage for future generations. TPWD urges public and private stakeholders to use the guide in developing conservation initiatives both locally and state-wide. The department uses the plan for many grant distribution programs including the Landowner Incentive Program, the Horned Lizard License Plate funds, State Wildlife Grants, and the Healthy Habitats program.

An online public survey for the TCAP draft will be available on the TPWD Web site June 10-July 8. Visitors are encouraged to fill out the survey to help hone state priorities for primarily non-game wildlife conservation. When finalized, the TCAP will be reviewed by the US Fish and Wildlife Service and go into effect later this year. With a current conservation plan in place Texas will continue to receive millions of dollars annually in federal state wildlife grants.

The TCAP provides a roadmap for management and recovery projects as well as restoration and research addressing wildlife species of greatest conservation need. The plan seeks to proactively improve the status of these species across the state to keep them from falling under the Endangered Species Act.

“The plan is only as good as the people who read it, care about it, and do something with it,” said Wendy Connally, the department’s TCAP Coordinator. “The survey will help us find better ways to communicate with Texans to make a difference for species and habitats in need.”

Last year, the Healthy Habitats program awarded $225,000 in grants to 15 different schools and non-profit youth organizations across the state. With the grant, students created service projects that addressed priorities in the Texas Conservation Action Plan. Encana Oil & Gas (USA) Inc. donated a total of $486,000 to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation to support the Healthy Habitats grant program and other programs in accordance with the Plan.

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On the Net:

The Texas Conservation Action Plan draft is available on the TPWD Web site at: http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/landwater/land/tcap/